Gordon Brown: At its meeting of 10 October 2006, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council was briefed on the interpretation and application of the price stability criterion in relation to enlargement of the euro area.
	Council adopted an opinion on the updated Convergence Programme for Hungary and a recommendation under Article 104(7), and also received Commission Communications on Germany and the UK.
	Council adopted Conclusions on working methods, financial stability arrangements, energy and innovation, taking into account discussions held at Informal ECOFIN Council meeting held in Helsinki.
	ECOFIN adopted Conclusions to support the Commission's approach to measuring and reducing administrative burdens resulting from EU legislation and called for prompt action.
	Council adopted Conclusions on a report regarding the design of national fiscal rules and institutions in EU member states.
	ECOFIN held an exchange of views on a proposal for the renewal of the European Investment Bank's external lending mandates, and agreed to return to the issue in November.
	Ministers held an exchange of views on the Commission's approach to improve the clearing and settlement of securities transactions in the EU.
	Council adopted Conclusions on the creation of a single euro payments area initiative.
	The Paymaster General represented the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: I represented the United Kingdom at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Luxembourg on 24 and 25 October 2006. Ross Finnie, the Scottish Environment and Rural Affairs Minister, also attended.
	The Council reached political agreement on a Council Regulation fixing cod recovery measures and a range of separate fishing quotas in the Baltic Sea for 2007. The UK is not directly affected by this regulation, but it was important that it was approved promptly to avoid over-loading future Council agendas later in the year.
	The Council held an exchange of views on the EC/Norway fisheries agreement for 2007 based on a presidency questionnaire. I stressed the importance of the agreement to UK interests and the need to strike an appropriate balance between conserving the fish stocks in question and providing sufficient fishing opportunities to ensure the long term sustainability of our industry.
	The Council also held an exchange of views on the Commission's communication on fishing opportunities for 2007 based on a presidency questionnaire. The communication sets out their ideas on catch limitations and related measures in advance of the scientific advice on which their proposals are ultimately based (which has since surfaced). I welcomed the Commission's communication as a significant step in taking forward their front-loading initiative, but identified a number of major concerns about particular elements of it. These included our opposition to the proposed 25 per cent. cut in North sea cod quota and to draconian cuts in fishing effort for 2007, on the basis that these would undermine the impending review of the cod recovery mechanism and harm the future competitiveness of the industry.
	The presidency noted that there was in its opinion broad support in Council for a general approach on the proposed regulation on definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, despite serious reservations by several member states and the Commission on the proposal. Along with a number of member states, I underlined our concerns about the legal aspects of the proposals on vodka, on which further work is needed.
	The Council held its last discussion, on the Commission's communication on options for the reform of the wine sector in the EU. I stressed the need for a market-based, liberalising reform of the wine sector which puts the consumer first and aims to improve competitiveness. The presidency concluded that all member states agreed to the need for reform to improve the international competitiveness of EU wine production, and that the Commission could now move ahead with preparing legislative proposals.
	The Council also held a policy debate on the Commission's proposal for organic farming on the basis of a questionnaire drawn up by the presidency. The discussion focused on labelling requirements for organic produce. There were divergent views amongst member states on the use of EU logo and origin labelling for primary and processed products, and on the controls and labelling applicable for the proposed three categories of processed products containing organic ingredients.
	Over lunch, on Tuesday, the Agriculture Ministers had a follow up discussion on last month's Finnish presidency informal Council topic about the European model of agriculture and the future of EU agriculture policy.
	A number of issues, as follows, were raised under any other business:
	The Council took note without discussion of a written update from the Commission on the Avian influenza situation.
	The Council also took note of an update from the Commission on CAP simplification, and information from the presidency on the conference of Directors of national paying agencies which was held in Rovaniemi, Finland.
	A number of member states, asked for amendments to the Commission's draft guidelines on agricultural state aids.

Joan Ryan: In accordance with Section 20(5) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, I have placed the Committee's annual report for 2005 in the Library today. Among other things the report includes; the advice offered by the Committee on project licence applications that were referred to the Committee for advice; the work carried out by the Committee's sub-committees; the completion of the Committee's review, commissioned by the Home Office, of the annual statistical report on the use of animals in scientific procedures; and the Committee's work on the retrospective assessment of suffering and severity.

Jack Straw: Before the summer recess the House agreed a motion that introduced, for the first time ever, an experimental period during September, in which a limited number of named-day Parliamentary questions could be tabled and answered. I am grateful to the House authorities, particularly the Table Office, for their co-operation in the successful introduction of this process.
	In excess of 100 Members made use of this new process, tabling 733 questions. The table below gives details of all the questions tabled, shown by date tabled and relevant Department.
	
		
			 Department Tabled Sept 4 Tabled Sept 6 Tabled Sept 11 Total tabled 
			 HMT 22 17 12 51 
			 Cab Office 3 0 2 5 
			 DCLG 29 16 6 51 
			 DCA 6 3 2 11 
			 DCMS 7 5 5 17 
			 Defence 18 30 24 72 
			 DPM 2 0 2 4 
			 DfES 27 10 8 45 
			 Defra 15 10 15 40 
			 FCO 27 13 13 53 
			 Health 65 25 29 119 
			 Home 54 23 18 95 
			 DfID 7 4 0 11 
			 Leader C 0 1 0 1 
			 N Ireland 12 5 0 17 
			 PM 1 3 1 5 
			 Scotland 0 2 0 2 
			 Sol Gen 5 0 2 7 
			 DTI 25 8 12 45 
			 DfT 18 5 17 40 
			 DWP 26 10 6 42 
			 Wales 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 369 190 174 733 
		
	
	The table includes questions which were subsequently withdrawn and questions which were subsequently transferred to another Department.
	Government Departments substantively answered 57 per cent. of the questions on the named-day specified.
	During the same period Government Departments issued 35 written ministerial statements, keeping the House informed of a wide-range of domestic and international issues.
	Following this experiment, a motion is now tabled to give the House the opportunity to express its view on the introduction of this new procedure and the earlier 2002 resolution of the House on September Sittings. This is for debate tomorrow, 1 November.

Peter Hain: The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, Douglas Bain, is responsible for all aspects of electoral administration in Northern Ireland, including the conduct of all elections and referendums, as well as electoral registration. In accordance with section 14 of the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962—as amended by Section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006—the Chief Electoral Officer is required to submit an annual report to the Secretary of State.
	I am pleased to announce that the annual report of the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland for the year 2005-06 has been laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library.

Malcolm Wicks: I have today granted consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to E.ON UK plc to construct a 1,200 MW combined cycle gas turbine generating station at grain in Kent. Planning permission has also been deemed to be granted subject to the inclusion of 51 conditions agreed with Medway council.
	In accordance with the Government's commitment that combined heat and power (CHP) should be used wherever feasible, E.ON has entered into an agreement to supply heat to a neighbouring industry should that prove acceptable to both parties. If that is the case the proposed station would qualify as a good quality CHP power station.

Margaret Hodge: I am today announcing the publication of the Review of Sustainable Construction. The review was launched in July 2005 and reflects the views of many in the construction industry and of other interested parties. It pulls together in one document the main strands of Government policy and industry initiatives on Sustainable Construction, taking account of developments since the publication of "Building a better quality of Life" in 2000. It also sets out some initial targets on how industry can meet the challenge of Sustainable Construction. Copies of the review are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
	I have asked my officials to develop over the course of the next year a forward-looking strategy for sustainable construction. This will refine the initial targets set out in the current review and set out how Government and the industry can work together to deliver greater sustainability in the construction industry.

Tom Harris: I am today announcing that we have issued bidders for the new East Midlands, West Midlands and New Cross Country rail franchises with an Invitation to Tender (ITT), Copies of stakeholder briefing documents, which give a synopsis of each ITT, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are available on the Department for Transport website at www.dft.gov.uk
	On the 18 October 2005, Official Report, col 52-53 WS, the Secretary of State announced that three new rail franchises would be created (east midlands, west midlands and a new cross-country) from four currently existing franchises (Central, Silverlink, Cross Country and Midland Mainline). The new franchises will begin operation on Sunday 11 November 2007 and will provide over 2,000 daily rail services.
	Each ITT has been informed by recent public consultations. Bidders have to provide the minimum service levels the ITT sets out and can propose additional services subject to any operational constraints and affordability.
	Our aim is to build on the recent success of current operators, meet current and future passenger demand and facilitate increases in capacity. The changes proposed will increase the number of trains operated per day over the rail network. In many areas, timetables will change to help deliver more frequent and faster services. In particular the West Coast Main Line will see marked increase in capacity, following the significant investment on the route, with the implementation of a 2008 timetable. In the New Cross Country franchise, bidders will be required to price a 30 per cent. increase in capacity on key routes. The East Midlands franchise starts the process of segmenting the long distance and commuter markets on the route, which will make train lengthening simpler to implement.
	Bidders must deliver value for money for both passengers and tax payers, and deliver improvements for current and future rail users. Performance will be contracted to improve significantly across all three new franchises.
	In the East and West Midlands franchises, where the operators are responsible for stations, the busiest stations will achieve Secure Stations Accreditation to improve passenger safety. The winners of the three franchises will also accept interoperable smartcard ticketing across the whole of the franchise during its lifetime. Fares regulation will remain capped at a maximum average rise of RPI+1 per cent. On all regulated tickets.